A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, he represented District 10A, which included portions of Crow Wing County in the north central part of the state.

He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Superior in 1984, earning his E.B.D.

teaching certificate in Emotional Behavior Disorders.

[1][2] Ward worked as an adult basic education instructor at Northeast Regional Corrections Center from 1974 to 1979, as director of alternative education for Independent School District 704 in Proctor from 1979 to 1987, and as an emotional behavior disorder instructor for the Brainerd School System from 1987 to 2006.

Ward lost re-election in 2014 to Josh Heintzeman.